NDIS and Foster Care South Australia: What Carers Need to Know

One of the most common points of confusion for foster carers in South Australia is the relationship between the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the child protection system. The two systems are separate, with different legal structures, different funding authorities, and different decision-makers. Understanding how they interact — and what your role as a carer is within that intersection — avoids frustrating delays and missed support.

Who Makes NDIS Decisions for Children in Foster Care?

This is the foundational question, and it is not intuitive.

When a child is in the guardianship of the Chief Executive of the DCP — which applies to the majority of children in foster care in SA — the legal guardian is the Chief Executive, not the carer and not the birth parents. Legal guardianship carries the authority to make significant decisions about a child's life, including decisions about disability supports.

This means that as a foster carer, you do not have the legal authority to apply for an NDIS plan on behalf of a child in your care, or to manage an existing NDIS plan. These functions sit with the DCP, administered through the child's caseworker and case plan.

What this means in practice:

• If you believe a child in your care may be eligible for the NDIS, you raise this with the DCP caseworker and ask that an access request be lodged with the NDIA.
• If the child already has an NDIS plan when they come into your care, the case plan should outline who manages the plan and what supports are funded.
• If you disagree with how the NDIS plan is being managed or feel it does not reflect the child's current needs, you raise this through the Care Team process — with your caseworker, in writing.

Which Children in Foster Care May Be Eligible for the NDIS?

NDIS eligibility requires that a person has a permanent disability that significantly affects their day-to-day functioning, and that they are under age 65. For children, the relevant category is "developmental delay" for those under seven years old, and "permanent disability" for those seven and above.

Many children who enter care in South Australia have complex needs that intersect with NDIS eligibility:

• Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): A condition caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. In SA, particularly in Aboriginal communities and in the Far North, FASD prevalence is disproportionately high among children in care. FASD can qualify for the NDIS where it results in significant functional impairment.
• Intellectual disability: Including conditions identified during early development.
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Children entering care may have undiagnosed ASD, particularly if their early years were chaotic and developmental concerns were not followed up.
• Physical disability: Including conditions requiring mobility aids, specialised equipment, or personal care.
• Psychosocial disability: Severe, persistent mental health conditions that significantly affect daily functioning. This category can be relevant to older children in care with significant trauma histories, though diagnosis and access are complex.

Children with developmental delay (under age seven) can access the NDIS on the basis of delay alone, without a formal diagnosis — the "early intervention" stream of the NDIS is designed to provide supports during the period when intervention is most effective.

What the NDIS Can Fund for Children in Foster Care

Where an eligible child has an NDIS plan, the plan can fund supports that the DCP's base allowance does not cover, including:

• Therapeutic supports: speech pathology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, and behavioural support from a registered NDIS provider
• Assistive technology: communication devices, mobility aids, sensory equipment
• Support coordination: assistance navigating and implementing the plan (particularly valuable where the child has complex needs across multiple systems)
• Daily personal care: for children with physical disabilities requiring assistance
• Community participation: funded activities that build skills and social connections

For children with significant needs — particularly those in therapeutic foster care through agencies like Life Without Barriers or Key Assets — an NDIS plan can meaningfully expand the support available to both the child and the carer.

Therapeutic Foster Care: The SA Context

When a child's needs exceed what standard foster care can adequately support, therapeutic foster care is the intensive alternative. Agencies like Life Without Barriers (LWB) and Key Assets specialise in this model in South Australia, providing:

• 24/7 clinical support for carers
• Specialised trauma-informed training beyond the standard preparation course
• Regular clinical supervision for the carer
• Increased financial loadings (up to 300% of the base rate) reflecting the higher demands of the placement

The DCP's special needs loading system and therapeutic foster care placements are the primary mechanisms within the child protection system for meeting the needs of children with complex behavioural or medical requirements. The NDIS is a complementary but separate layer of support.

Behaviour Management: What the SA System Provides

The phrase "behaviour management" in the foster care context can mean very different things depending on who is using it. It is worth being clear about what South Australian carers are expected to do and what they are not.

Foster carers in SA are not behaviour therapists. They are expected to:

• Implement strategies recommended by clinicians involved in the child's care
• Maintain consistency, structure, and emotional safety in the home
• Apply de-escalation approaches from trauma-informed training
• Document incidents and communicate them to the DCP caseworker and agency support worker
• Access support — including the 24/7 crisis line — when a situation is beyond their immediate capacity to manage

What carers are not expected to do:

• Develop clinical behaviour support plans independently
• Manage severe self-harm or suicidality without immediate clinical support
• Continue managing a placement indefinitely without requesting additional support if the placement is unsafe for the child, the carer, or other household members

If a child's behaviour presents risks that are not being adequately supported by the existing clinical and agency support structure, carers have a legitimate right to escalate — to the agency manager, to the DCP caseworker, and if necessary through the formal review process under Section 157 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.

Navigating the intersection of the NDIS, the DCP case plan, and your own role as a carer is easier with a clear framework. The South Australia Foster Care Guide covers the Care Team model, your rights under the Safety Act, and the practical support mechanisms available in SA — including what to do when the system is not delivering what a child needs.

When There Is No NDIS Plan and There Should Be

The reality in SA — as in other states — is that children with disabilities in foster care sometimes do not have NDIS plans, because the access request has not been lodged, the diagnosis has not been made, or the DCP case plan has not prioritised it.

As a carer, you are not in a position to force the DCP to act. But you are in a position to:

1. Document your observations of the child's functional limitations in writing and provide these to the caseworker
2. Ask explicitly, in writing, whether an NDIS access request has been lodged and if not, why not
3. Request a team meeting to discuss the child's therapeutic and support needs
4. Involve your agency's Carer Support Worker, who may have more leverage in case planning conversations

The NDIS is one of the most significant potential sources of additional support for children with complex needs in foster care. Carers who understand how it works — and what to ask for — are better placed to ensure the children in their homes receive the full support they are entitled to.

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